Chapter 701
On the surface, Hanno agreed to send troops to Sicily, but he believed that Diónia's current military power was strong. Carthage alone did not have absolute confidence in winning, so he needed to gather the military power in the hands of the governor of Iberia, Margo, because they had a large army all year round and often fought with the indigenous people of Iberia, so they had rich combat experience.
According to reason, this request of Hanno was reasonable, and many senators expressed their approval. However, Pretacuba and the other Magonid senators firmly opposed it. They believed that although Mago had an army in Iberia, this army was used to defend against the invasion of the Iberian natives. If they were transferred away, the newly occupied land of Carthage in Iberia might once again fall into the hands of the natives.
Hanno scoffed at this reason. He loudly sneered, "Does Margo still need to defend against the attack of the indigenous people of Iberia? I heard that the indigenous leaders of Iberia often go to Ceci to see him, and he scolds them like he scolds his slaves. And I also know that the officials of Malaga City and Gaddis City go to Ceci to see Margo much more often than to Carthage! The Iberian colonies are now very stable, but the military expenses that Margo applied to the Senate are increasing year by year, and the army under his command is getting bigger and bigger. I don't know who he is using this army to defend against? Shouldn't he use this army supported by Carthage's gold and silver to serve Carthage? If he doesn't agree, then does he have other ideas? "
What Hanno said could be said to hit the nail on the head. Pretacuba found it difficult to refute for a while, and many senators who had accepted bribes from Margo could not speak for him at this time. Hanno's proposal was also supported by the neutral senators.
In the end, Hanno even said harsh words, "If Margo does not send troops, Carthage will not send troops to Sicily!"
The meeting ended in discord.
Soon, rumors began to spread in the city of Carthage. "Hanno is afraid of Diónia, so he doesn't dare to send his army to fight. He's determined to violate the agreement with his close ally, Rome!"
However, another rumor was widely spread: "Margo refused to send troops recruited with the taxes of the citizens of Carthage to fight against Diónia because he wanted to be the king of Iberia!"
This rumor caused an uproar in the city of Carthage. Many people gathered in front of the Senate to protest, scolding Margo as a traitor, and strongly demanding that the Senate revoke his position as governor of Iberia and transfer him back to Carthage for trial.
When the news spread to the south of Iberia, Margo and the others were somewhat depressed.
They knew very well that this was the disadvantage of not being in the center of power for Carthage, so it was difficult for him to control the situation. Although the Magonid Family had a stable foundation in Iberia, once it left Carthage, it would become a rootless tree.
Of course, they didn't want to be abandoned by the people of Carthage. Hanno's approach could be said to have hit their soft spot.
After a discussion with Hakkar, Margo quickly made a decision.
So, a few days later, Pretacuba proposed at the Senate meeting, "My Lords, as a citizen of Carthage, Margo, the governor of Iberia, is certainly willing to send his troops to fight, but he wants to be the commander of the attack on Sicily!"
Indeed, with Margo's identity and military qualifications, no one among the citizens of Carthage dared to compete with him for the position of commander of the expedition, but how could Hanno let him do as he wished? Tepanlaco immediately stood up and expressed his opposition, "The situation in the Iberian Peninsula is complicated, and there are many fierce indigenous people. Once Lord Margo leaves, and the new governor is not familiar with the situation there, I am afraid it will lead to instability in the newly occupied Iberia region. Wouldn't the efforts of these years be in vain? So it is better for Lord Margo to stay in Iberia, and only need to send the army over. "
Pretacuba immediately retorted, "My Lords, you should all know that the members of the Iberian Army are complicated. Most of them are foreign mercenaries. If they are commanded by outsiders, I am afraid they will not listen to orders. Not only will it not achieve the effect of the battle, but it will also cause chaos. If the Senate is really worried about the safety of the new Iberian territory, I recommend Hasdrubal, the son of Himilco, to be the commander of the expedition. He has led the army to defeat the indigenous people in Iberia many times. He has rich combat experience and is a rare general talent in Carthage! "
Replacing Margo with Hasdrubal, the effect is still the same! Margo has a good idea! Hanno sneered in his heart.
As a result, the Hanoverian senators all expressed their opposition, and even Oakton shouted excitedly, "An army supported by Carthage's taxes does not listen to Carthage's orders, but is willing to listen to the command of only one person. Isn't this dangerous? Do we dare to give the command of the army to such a person, and put the city of Carthage in possible danger! … "
Oakton's words could be said to be quite harsh, but he said the problem that many senators were worried about. The main members of the Magonid family had gone to Iberia, and they could not return to Carthage a few times a year. They also had a large army in their hands that was almost not composed of Carthage citizens. This in itself had already worried the Senate. Now that the command of the army was given to the Magonid family, it was obviously not what the senators wanted.
On this issue, the leader of the neutral party, Esaruba, was in agreement with Hanno.
In the end, with the support of the majority of the senators in the Senate, a resolution was passed: Milefio, the military governor of Numibia, would be the commander of the army, and Margo would not have to go, but Iberia must send no less than 20,000 troops to fight.
This resolution was not only the opposite of the result that Margo and the others expected, but also greatly harmed their interests. Therefore, Margo, who received the news, delayed the implementation of the resolution and sent messengers to Carthage with a large sum of money to lobby the senators.
In the back and forth wrangling between the two sides, the dispatch of troops to Sicily had been delayed.
… …
Just as the Senate of Carthage was arguing about the expedition, the council of Syracuse was also engaged in a fierce debate.
More than a decade ago, Syracuse was still the largest Greek city-state in Sicily, and even the most powerful city-state in the entire Greek world. Under the rule of the tyrant Dionysius, the people of Syracuse defeated the powerful Carthage people, conquered most of the land of Sicily, and became the overlord of Sicily. Dionysius even led nearly 100,000 troops north and crossed the sea to attack Greece in an attempt to expand his territory.
However, after half a year of war with the newly rising Diónia Alliance, the people of Syracuse, who obviously had the upper hand, eventually suffered a crushing defeat in both naval and land battles. Diónia's army even attacked Sicily, causing the people of Syracuse to rebel and overthrow Dionysius's rule. In the end, Dionysius and his family were betrayed and murdered by Sparta.
The people of Syracuse, who were liberated from Dionysius's dictatorship, decided not to repeat the same mistakes. The people entrusted Harolis, who played a leading role in the process of overthrowing Dionysius's rule, to form a new democratic government in Syracuse.
However, Harolis had other ideas. During Dionysius's rule, he held an important position in the city-state. At the same time, he seriously studied the political system of Diónia. That was why he opposed Dionysius because Dionysius was too cruel and oppressed the people too much. It did not mean that he fully agreed with democracy. On the contrary, he believed that democracy was too free and undisciplined, inefficient, and prone to chaos. Especially when Syracuse experienced a crushing defeat and urgently needed to recover its national strength, he should centralize power and quickly make various decisions that were beneficial to the city-state's development.
That was why he delayed forming a new government. Instead, he used his position as the highest leader during the war to frequently issue various decisions. These decisions were often made by him alone without discussing with anyone else, which was criticized by the people.
During this period of time, there were two things that caused his reputation to plummet among the people.
First, an important democratic figure in Syracuse, Teagenis, was arrested for vehemently opposing Dionysius's rule. He was supposed to be sentenced to death, but with the help of a friend, he actually escaped imprisonment and escaped from Sicily. After Dionysius's rule was overthrown, he actually brought a few warships and some soldiers back to Syracuse.
Based on his heroic deeds against Dionysius, the people gave him a warm welcome and elected him as a general in the citizens' assembly. They hoped that he would enter Syracuse's wartime general executive committee and counterbalance Harolis's growing power.
However, Harolis actually vetoed the results of the citizens' assembly and emphasized that "any decision must be approved by him." This matter made the people very angry.
However, in a previous decision issued by Harolis, a large amount of fertile land that Dionysius had once distributed to the mercenaries was distributed to the civilians in the port, and they were given full citizenship. Therefore, it was fully supported by the people and free people in the port area.
In addition, in the wartime general executive committee, Falcus, Stesicus and the others were all friends of Harolis and his supporters, so it seemed that his power was unshakable.
The second matter was that although Diónia agreed to release the captured Syracuse soldiers and sailors, the Devers put forward a condition. They asked Syracuse to compensate for the damage caused by the Syracuse army to Great Greece, and also to ransom the captives.
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